[Name: I'm Just Yor Colins] [TL/N: Reminder, MC IGN]
[Class: None]
[Level: Lv13 (125/2500)]
[Chakra: 130/130]
[Skills: Gentle Fist (Lv3), Clone Jutsu (Lv2), Substitution Jutsu (Lv5), Transformation Jutsu (Lv2), Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm (Lv3), Byakugan (Lv3), Fire Style: Unknown Fire (Lv1)]
[EXP Pool: 0]
[Equipment: (Bandit's Left Greave)(Bandit's Right Greave)(Bandit's Right Gauntlet)(Bandit's Sabre)(Bandit's Armor)]
[Inventory: Kunai (0), Explosive Tags (9), Shuriken (99), Wire (0)...]
Akira could feel that his chakra had increased slightly. His strength and agility had also improved a bit.
Even though there was no actual stat window, leveling up clearly boosted all his attributes, albeit modestly.
At most, he'd grown about ten percent stronger.
Nawaki thought he saw a golden light flash over Akira's body, like a god descending to earth, but then figured it must've been his imagination.
He turned to ask Uchiha Sōsuke, "Did you see a golden flash on my big bro just now?"
Sōsuke stiffly shook his head. He still couldn't accept the fact that Hizashi had lost.
That was Hyuga Hizashi!
One of the Twin Stars of the Hyuga clan!
Akira didn't care about titles like "Twin Stars." He simply walked up to the unconscious Hizashi, crouched down, and slapped him on the cheeks twice.
"Wake up. You haven't paid yet."
That money was supposed to fund his better living conditions!
Hizashi opened his eyes in a daze, staring blankly at Akira.
Akira took a step back.
"Don't even think about pretending you forgot."
Expressionless, Hizashi stood up. A dull pain pulsed through his forehead, Akira's axe kick had landed square on his skull.
"You used Hard Fist just now," he said coldly.
Gentle Fist and Hard Fist were two completely different paths. No one in the Hyuga clan had ever taken the Hard Fist route.
"So what if I did?" Akira shrugged with zero shame.
Crushing Fist was a style he had developed himself, based on his memories from his past life. Unfortunately, it hadn't yet evolved into a proper skill on his system interface.
It was pure, brutal force.
Hizashi stared at him for a long moment... then turned and walked away without another word.
Not even a second glance.
Akira handed the silver notes to Nawaki and swept his gaze across the crowd.
"Who's next?!"
...
Night fell on Konoha. Moonlight spilled down, but it couldn't outshine the glow of the shops lining the streets.
Akira exhaled slowly.
"Big bro, we made 23,000 ryō today!" Nawaki said, handing over all the silver notes.
Akira pulled out 3,000 ryō and gave it back to Nawaki.
"For your hard work."
"Thanks, big bro!"
The 20,000 ryō was enough to improve Akira's quality of life, but to him, the real harvest wasn't the cash.
It was this:
[EXP: 5625]
"Ninjas really are valuable," Akira muttered to himself.
Originally, he'd hoped just to level up once, but this much EXP was enough for two levels.
If he repeated this a couple more times, he'd be able to hit Level 18.
And Level 18 meant he could pick a class.
Class advancement would unlock specialized skills, and among them, techniques that could remove the Caged Bird Seal.
"Once I change class, I'll need to grind for more skills..."
For now, he decided not to level up immediately. Level 18 wasn't far off, and the priority was boosting his power.
He took 3,500 EXP and dumped it into Substitution Jutsu to max it out.
Each level-up cost only 100 EXP, so hitting max level at Lv10 required 3,500 EXP total.
[Substitution Jutsu (Lv10) – MAX]
[Choose a Trait]
→ [Swap: Can substitute with any object in use]
→ [Explode: Substitution item detonates on use]
→ [Illusion: User becomes invisible for a short time after use]
Three traits appeared, each with detailed explanations.
Akira considered them carefully... then came to a conclusion.
First choice: Swap.
Second choice: Swap.
Third choice: Swap.
No question, it had to be Swap. This was basically Flying Thunder God!
[Substitution Jutsu (Lv10) – Trait: Swap]
A massive load of advanced Substitution theory surged into his brain. What used to be a simple jutsu suddenly turned incredibly complex, making his head throb.
Time to grow a bigger brain.
He now had 2,125 EXP left.
"Big bro!!" Nawaki's sudden shout snapped him back to reality.
Akira turned toward him and scratched his head. "What'd you say just now?"
His attention had been buried in the system panel and he hadn't heard a word.
Nawaki sighed and repeated, "Big bro, I've got class tomorrow. I can't help you run the booth anymore."
Akira waved him off. "No problem. I'll manage tomorrow myself."
No way was he giving up on that juicy EXP haul.
The two of them packed up the kunai stabbed into the ground and the wires strung around them. Akira pretended to store them in his ninja tool pouch.
In reality, he just sent them to his inventory.
Seeing that there was nothing else left to tidy up, Nawaki asked curiously, "Big bro, aren't you already a ninja? Ninja missions pay well too. Why don't you just do those?"
Akira replied helplessly, "You think I don't want to? I'm stuck with a team that's all face and no heart. And your sister's always crazy busy. She's got no time for me."
He and Hiashi weren't just "not on the same page", they weren't even reading the same book.
As for Tsunade, she was constantly off healing the injured. Tensions among the Five Great Nations were ramping up, and each of the villages was under pressure. When missions involved other nations' ninjas, they turned into deadly battles.
Lots of shinobi were coming back with serious injuries, and Tsunade was doing her best to save them all.
With that kind of team? No way they'd be doing daily missions. He'd have to wait for Tsunade's say-so.
"Yeah, that makes sense..." Nawaki nodded. He knew how busy his sister was.
"Anyway, I'll head home first. I can only help you again next weekend."
"Go on, go on." Akira waved him off. He really didn't need the company.
He turned to look at the increasing number of pedestrians passing under the soft glow of Konoha's neon signs.
Laughter and banter drifted through the air.
Night had become the world of adults.
Maybe it was time he tried the adult world too. Even if he wasn't of age yet. Even if he didn't have a girlfriend!
He checked into a local inn, alone, of course. He'd had enough of that rented shack. Tomorrow, he planned to return the lease.
A pity, really.
Once he got the room key at the front desk, he headed straight in.
After closing the door behind him...
He finally had time to test out his upgraded jutsu.
With a flick of his wrist, he hurled a shuriken at the wall.
"Substitution Jutsu!"
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200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapters
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🚨 TL/N 💥
Hello guys Fanfic recommendation!
Check out my other work:
💥> Naruto: Mind Control (Highly Recommended)
💥> Bleach: Sephiroth Template
If you like smart and strong MC, this fanfic is for you.
It's Peak.